Now, onto Day 2 of TTSSMOE ("The Train Station Stresses Me Out Extravaganza.") We were very excited for this day because we were going to the beach!!!! Heads up, there are no pictures of this day because it has been my lead favorite day, so far. But also, we didn't want to take my camera to the beach and my cell phone was almost dead. We wanted to save its power in case of an emergency.
We headed to the beach and were excited that all we needed was our EuroPass. The first sign that this wasn't going to be a good day was when I went to get our Pass and it had been in Craig's book bag all along. So if you remember, Day 1 of TTSSMOE we couldn't buy our train tickets because we didn't have our Pass with us???? Well, we had it with us all along! Which was completely my fault because I had left the Pass in there from when we were traveling from Florence.
When we got to the train station, the thought hit me: We don't have our passports, but do we need them? Surely they don't expect us to take our passports to the beach with us. I laugh now at my thinking because it's as if everyone riding the train is going to the beach, and the train staff will surely understand! So, I mentioned something the Craig but we kept walking toward the train. But when we got there, we couldn't manage to bring ourselves to get on without knowing if it would be okay, and we couldn't find anyone to ask. We watched the train leave, and decided it would be easier to find someone to ask before taking the risk of getting caught and paying a fine. We found a Trenitalia employee and he told us not to worry about it. We still needed to buy tickets for getting to Pompeii and Milan, so we decided to use our time to buy those tickets until the next train came. This took an hour and we had people coming and asking us if we needed help periodically. When we finally got to a ticket counter we purchased our tickets and before we left, Craig asked, "Do we need our passports with us on the train to the beach if we have our EuroPass?" The staff member replied, "Yes, you do." I didn't know whether to be mad at the staff person for the inconsistency or mad at Craig. I thought we would be good to go, to get on the train after sitting in line for the previous hour. Craig wanted to go back to the apartment (which meant delaying our beach day another 2 hours) and get our passports. I tried convincing him we'd be okay since the other staff member said not to worry about it, but I could quickly tell he wouldn't budge and I didn't want him to be uncomfortable. So, out of frustration I cried a little bit on the subway. This was also after seeing some children playing an accordion and asking for money. It was pretty much the last straw of Day 2 TTSSMOE.
We got back to the apartment, got our passports, waited about 15 minutes and headed back to the Train Station. Total, we spent $12 on subway for useless trips to the train station. Anyways, we finally made it to Santa Marinella for the beach and guess what? Not only did we not have to show our passports, but they didn't even check passengers for tickets! I tried to get to the beach as quickly as we could so I didn't think about it too much.
When we first got to the beach, I saw everyone had an umbrella, but couldn't see the system of getting one. In Hawaii, all the beaches we went to were free. After eating our lunch under two other people's umbrella we were quickly informed of where to get our own area. I guess that's a quick way to get some help and information!!! They were charging $10 for an umbrella and Craig asked where a free public beach was. I didn't want to walk anywhere else, but gave in and walked down to the public beach. When we found it, it was all rock just like a lot of beaches in Hawaii. I told him it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a sandy beach. I think deep down, he did too, so we didn't even have to argue about whether the Sandy beach and umbrella was worth the $10. We got our spot designated and they even walked us to it. I told Craig, "We're coming back here at least two times to make all this work worth it." And he agreed. The water was pretty cold, but you could get used to it eventually.
We stayed for about 2 hours and headed home. On the way home, I realized I was feeling pretty homesick that day. It wasn't something I expected, but I think it was all the stress, language barriers, and overall unfamiliarity. I told Craig I felt like eating a burger, french fries, &chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Luckily, there was a "Hamburgeria" around the corner from where we were staying. I got a chicken burger, fries, and later we found a chocolate torta at our gelato spot.
We headed to the beach and were excited that all we needed was our EuroPass. The first sign that this wasn't going to be a good day was when I went to get our Pass and it had been in Craig's book bag all along. So if you remember, Day 1 of TTSSMOE we couldn't buy our train tickets because we didn't have our Pass with us???? Well, we had it with us all along! Which was completely my fault because I had left the Pass in there from when we were traveling from Florence.
When we got to the train station, the thought hit me: We don't have our passports, but do we need them? Surely they don't expect us to take our passports to the beach with us. I laugh now at my thinking because it's as if everyone riding the train is going to the beach, and the train staff will surely understand! So, I mentioned something the Craig but we kept walking toward the train. But when we got there, we couldn't manage to bring ourselves to get on without knowing if it would be okay, and we couldn't find anyone to ask. We watched the train leave, and decided it would be easier to find someone to ask before taking the risk of getting caught and paying a fine. We found a Trenitalia employee and he told us not to worry about it. We still needed to buy tickets for getting to Pompeii and Milan, so we decided to use our time to buy those tickets until the next train came. This took an hour and we had people coming and asking us if we needed help periodically. When we finally got to a ticket counter we purchased our tickets and before we left, Craig asked, "Do we need our passports with us on the train to the beach if we have our EuroPass?" The staff member replied, "Yes, you do." I didn't know whether to be mad at the staff person for the inconsistency or mad at Craig. I thought we would be good to go, to get on the train after sitting in line for the previous hour. Craig wanted to go back to the apartment (which meant delaying our beach day another 2 hours) and get our passports. I tried convincing him we'd be okay since the other staff member said not to worry about it, but I could quickly tell he wouldn't budge and I didn't want him to be uncomfortable. So, out of frustration I cried a little bit on the subway. This was also after seeing some children playing an accordion and asking for money. It was pretty much the last straw of Day 2 TTSSMOE.
We got back to the apartment, got our passports, waited about 15 minutes and headed back to the Train Station. Total, we spent $12 on subway for useless trips to the train station. Anyways, we finally made it to Santa Marinella for the beach and guess what? Not only did we not have to show our passports, but they didn't even check passengers for tickets! I tried to get to the beach as quickly as we could so I didn't think about it too much.
When we first got to the beach, I saw everyone had an umbrella, but couldn't see the system of getting one. In Hawaii, all the beaches we went to were free. After eating our lunch under two other people's umbrella we were quickly informed of where to get our own area. I guess that's a quick way to get some help and information!!! They were charging $10 for an umbrella and Craig asked where a free public beach was. I didn't want to walk anywhere else, but gave in and walked down to the public beach. When we found it, it was all rock just like a lot of beaches in Hawaii. I told him it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a sandy beach. I think deep down, he did too, so we didn't even have to argue about whether the Sandy beach and umbrella was worth the $10. We got our spot designated and they even walked us to it. I told Craig, "We're coming back here at least two times to make all this work worth it." And he agreed. The water was pretty cold, but you could get used to it eventually.
We stayed for about 2 hours and headed home. On the way home, I realized I was feeling pretty homesick that day. It wasn't something I expected, but I think it was all the stress, language barriers, and overall unfamiliarity. I told Craig I felt like eating a burger, french fries, &chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Luckily, there was a "Hamburgeria" around the corner from where we were staying. I got a chicken burger, fries, and later we found a chocolate torta at our gelato spot.
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